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The Most Retail Park with 6, 471 sq m GLA. Credit: Focus Estate Fund.

Focus Estate Fund has closed the deal on the sale of its Czech portfolio

Focus Estate Fund has finalized the deal on the sale of two of its retail properties in Czech Republic to DRFG investment group: Centro Ostrava Retail Park (GLA 7, 699 sq m) in Ostrava and Most Retail Park (GLA 6, 471 sq m) in Most. The Fund acquired these assets in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

Centro Ostrava Retail Park is anchored by Jysk, Mountfield, Koberce Breno, Nábytek Getymo, Autodraft; Most Retail Park by Mountfield, Sportisimo, Koberce Breno, Auto Kelly, Jump Park.

“Our focus was and is on non-prime retail parks and convenience shopping centers and these assets have proved its resilience in the face of the pandemic. At this point we have even more appetite to invest in the Czech market,” Maxim Shkolnick, Focus Estate Fund General Partner, commented on the deal.

“Our investment strategy focused on conveniently located retail parks in the vicinity of a grocery store and focusing on daily necessities, also worked for us during the lockdown period, when these stores often operated without major restrictions. Through the acquisition, we are also strengthening our position in important regions–in the Moravian-Silesian Region and Northern Bohemia,” Otakar Souček, Investment Director DRFG, said.

“We are thrilled that we were able to fully utilize the potential of the open tender sale process and that the transaction was successfully closed before the end of this year,” says Jan Bohata from the Capital Markets team at BNP Paribas Real Estate in Prague.

“The two retail parks located in the Czech Republic were part of larger CEE portfolio which is developed successively with our support,” Mateusz Skubiszewski, MRICS, Head of Capital Markets in BNP Paribas Real Estate, Poland, added.

BNP Paribas Real Estate was the sales broker in the transaction. Kocián Šolc Balaštík provided legal support, Savills administered technical issues, ASB carried out financial consulting. The amount of the deal was not disclosed.